Kentucky's season opener against Central Michigan is only eight days away. The Wildcats are already preparing for CMU and Cats Illustrated's coverage has started to include more about the Chippewas as well.
You can read our full breakdown of CMU's personnel, schemes and how they match up with Kentucky on paper here.
Now it's time to lay out more information about some important Chippewas who could have a hand in the game's outcome.
Junior running back Jonathan Ward
Ward is CMU's most proven returning offensive player and Kentucky can expect the Chippewas to throw a heavy dose of Ward their way. He had 215 carries last year in spite of CMU having a prolific passing game with plenty of other options on offense. With a new quarterback, new starting tackles and an almost entirely new cast of pass catchers, it stands to reason that the Chippewas will lean very heavily on their feature back in the season opener on the road. CMU is likely to make Kentucky prove that its run defense has made progress from last season and Ward is the best way they can do that.
The 6'0, 185 pound running back from Kankakee, Ill., started last season strong with 147 yards against Rhode Island, but he went through a lot of struggles until the second half of the schedule. Through the month of November, however, Ward was fantastic. He averaged right around 130 yards per game in CMU's last four regular season games with five touchdowns. When he wasn't finding success on the ground early in the season he was still catching plenty of passes and making things happen in space.
Last season was Ward's first as a major contributor for a full season. He's the kind of player a lot of Kentucky fans could cheer for after Week 1, because his story of escaping rough surroundings in his youth (a close friend was shot and killed in 2017) is a feel-good success tale.
Ward has carried the team on his shoulders before. CMU was devastated by injuries to skill position players last year, and his production was vital in helping the team to a bowl game. He's the kind of player who can change directions and see holes before they open.
Sophomore quarterback Tony Poljan
When Kentucky lands a three-star recruit with a 5.6 Rivals Rating, that's par for the course (at least under Mark Stoops). When Central Michigan lands that kind of player, top 20 in the state of Michigan, that's a big deal. When that player is a quarterback who had received earlier Power Five offers, well, that's the kind of player most MAC programs can build around for the future. That has been the plan from the start. Poljan appeared to be the odds-on favorite to start for CMU at one point before last season, but when Shane Morris transferred from Michigan to the school in Mount Pleasant that changed the equation.
One year older, perhaps wiser and with a little time at receiver under his belt in 2017, Poljan is the future of the program and the future is now. He had more rushing attempts (27) than passing attempts (21), which speaks to his athleticism but also perhaps his raw arm. That's not to say the arm is lacking. The massive 6'7, 236 pound athlete/quarterback was 10/17 for 61 yards in limited action last year with most of those passes coming against Miami-OH, Wyoming and Rhode Island.
CMU head coach John Bonamego said during the offseason that Poljan is doing all the right things: Putting in the work, picking up the mental part of the game, keeping the right attitude. But until at least next Saturday, he remains a very large, figuratively and literally, unknown as a starting quarterback. It seems clear that CMU will have Poljan running (and running the read option with Ward) a fair amount. And with so many receivers (and the team's star tight end) lost from last year, with two new tackles also, there might be a lot of stuff between the tackles and simple plays designed to build confidence.
Senior offensive tackle Clay Walderzak
There are some, not many, parallels between Central Michigan and the Southern Miss team that Kentucky has faced over the last couple of seasons. Because it's not easy for mid-major programs to recruit big-time offensive tackles (No. 1 draft pick Eric Fisher, of CMU, was a developmental prospect), it's more common to see players converted from other positions. Such is what happened with Walderzak, who has been a journeyman if ever there was one.
Checking in at just 6'4, 271 pounds, Walderzak might appear undersized on paper and in person, but Bonamego emphasizes that he's one of the toughest, strongest players the Chippewas have.
After redshirting as a freshman in 2014, Walderzak was out of action with an injury in 2015 and then performed on special teams as a redshirt sophomore in '16. Last year he moved from tight end to offensive guard before the season, but during the season he started half the year at left or right tackle.
In other words Walderzak is undersized and doesn't have a lot of game experience, but he's athletic, powerful and regarded as one CMU's team leaders. As the Chips' left tackle protecting new quarterback Poljan, he's got a major assignment against Kentucky defensive linemen and edge rushers with something to prove.
Senior linebacker Malik Fountain
There's experience. Then there's Malik Fountain experience. After redshirting as a true freshman out of high school during the 2014 season, Fountain has started every single one of CMU's 39 games since. Last season culminating in second team All-MAC honors after he finished with 89 tackles (team leader), 55 of those solo. It was the second straight year he led the Chippewas in tackles.
Fountain is solid if unspectacular. He will infrequently have a hand in forcing a turnover or hurrying the quarterback, and his tackles for loss total took a nosedive from 2016 to 2017 for some reason. But he is almost always around the ball when it's in the box or over the middle of the field. Those football instincts have always served him well, and Fountain now has as much experience as any player in college football entering the 2018 season.
CMU coach John Bonamego has said the linebackers on this team are among the best units that he has ever coached. Fountain, and the consistency he brings in the middle of the defense and as a coach on the field, is a big reason he's so confident in that group. Bonamego has said he's one of the best on the team at reading what the opponent is doing.
While Jonathan Ward put up big numbers on offense, HustleBelt.com, a blog devoted to MAC football, ranks him 19th among all players in the conference - and Ward 20th.
Junior defensive back Sean Bunting
Bunting, as CMU's coaches have said, plays with the kind of swagger and confidence that is characteristic of many great defensive backs. Now he's got to provide leadership for a secondary that loses some key pieces from a unit that was one of the team's strengths in 2017.
In terms of his skills and past production, there's a lot to like. Bunting has been a big play kind of guy. He had two forced fumbles, five pass breakups and five interceptions a year ago. Actually, Bunting had five interceptions in CMU's final six games of the season. During the team's four-game winning streak at the end of the regular season he was arguably as valuable as any player on the defense because of those forced turnovers in competitive games.
Bunting's history with CMU is interesting. The previous Chippewa coaching staff had taken him as a scholarship commitment, but when John Bonamego took over he asked Bunting to greyshirt. Since Bunting didn't have many other options, he accepted that greyshirt. It's worked out well.
You can read our full breakdown of CMU's personnel, schemes and how they match up with Kentucky on paper here.
Now it's time to lay out more information about some important Chippewas who could have a hand in the game's outcome.
Junior running back Jonathan Ward
Ward is CMU's most proven returning offensive player and Kentucky can expect the Chippewas to throw a heavy dose of Ward their way. He had 215 carries last year in spite of CMU having a prolific passing game with plenty of other options on offense. With a new quarterback, new starting tackles and an almost entirely new cast of pass catchers, it stands to reason that the Chippewas will lean very heavily on their feature back in the season opener on the road. CMU is likely to make Kentucky prove that its run defense has made progress from last season and Ward is the best way they can do that.
The 6'0, 185 pound running back from Kankakee, Ill., started last season strong with 147 yards against Rhode Island, but he went through a lot of struggles until the second half of the schedule. Through the month of November, however, Ward was fantastic. He averaged right around 130 yards per game in CMU's last four regular season games with five touchdowns. When he wasn't finding success on the ground early in the season he was still catching plenty of passes and making things happen in space.
Last season was Ward's first as a major contributor for a full season. He's the kind of player a lot of Kentucky fans could cheer for after Week 1, because his story of escaping rough surroundings in his youth (a close friend was shot and killed in 2017) is a feel-good success tale.
Ward has carried the team on his shoulders before. CMU was devastated by injuries to skill position players last year, and his production was vital in helping the team to a bowl game. He's the kind of player who can change directions and see holes before they open.
Sophomore quarterback Tony Poljan
When Kentucky lands a three-star recruit with a 5.6 Rivals Rating, that's par for the course (at least under Mark Stoops). When Central Michigan lands that kind of player, top 20 in the state of Michigan, that's a big deal. When that player is a quarterback who had received earlier Power Five offers, well, that's the kind of player most MAC programs can build around for the future. That has been the plan from the start. Poljan appeared to be the odds-on favorite to start for CMU at one point before last season, but when Shane Morris transferred from Michigan to the school in Mount Pleasant that changed the equation.
One year older, perhaps wiser and with a little time at receiver under his belt in 2017, Poljan is the future of the program and the future is now. He had more rushing attempts (27) than passing attempts (21), which speaks to his athleticism but also perhaps his raw arm. That's not to say the arm is lacking. The massive 6'7, 236 pound athlete/quarterback was 10/17 for 61 yards in limited action last year with most of those passes coming against Miami-OH, Wyoming and Rhode Island.
CMU head coach John Bonamego said during the offseason that Poljan is doing all the right things: Putting in the work, picking up the mental part of the game, keeping the right attitude. But until at least next Saturday, he remains a very large, figuratively and literally, unknown as a starting quarterback. It seems clear that CMU will have Poljan running (and running the read option with Ward) a fair amount. And with so many receivers (and the team's star tight end) lost from last year, with two new tackles also, there might be a lot of stuff between the tackles and simple plays designed to build confidence.
Senior offensive tackle Clay Walderzak
There are some, not many, parallels between Central Michigan and the Southern Miss team that Kentucky has faced over the last couple of seasons. Because it's not easy for mid-major programs to recruit big-time offensive tackles (No. 1 draft pick Eric Fisher, of CMU, was a developmental prospect), it's more common to see players converted from other positions. Such is what happened with Walderzak, who has been a journeyman if ever there was one.
Checking in at just 6'4, 271 pounds, Walderzak might appear undersized on paper and in person, but Bonamego emphasizes that he's one of the toughest, strongest players the Chippewas have.
After redshirting as a freshman in 2014, Walderzak was out of action with an injury in 2015 and then performed on special teams as a redshirt sophomore in '16. Last year he moved from tight end to offensive guard before the season, but during the season he started half the year at left or right tackle.
In other words Walderzak is undersized and doesn't have a lot of game experience, but he's athletic, powerful and regarded as one CMU's team leaders. As the Chips' left tackle protecting new quarterback Poljan, he's got a major assignment against Kentucky defensive linemen and edge rushers with something to prove.
Senior linebacker Malik Fountain
There's experience. Then there's Malik Fountain experience. After redshirting as a true freshman out of high school during the 2014 season, Fountain has started every single one of CMU's 39 games since. Last season culminating in second team All-MAC honors after he finished with 89 tackles (team leader), 55 of those solo. It was the second straight year he led the Chippewas in tackles.
Fountain is solid if unspectacular. He will infrequently have a hand in forcing a turnover or hurrying the quarterback, and his tackles for loss total took a nosedive from 2016 to 2017 for some reason. But he is almost always around the ball when it's in the box or over the middle of the field. Those football instincts have always served him well, and Fountain now has as much experience as any player in college football entering the 2018 season.
CMU coach John Bonamego has said the linebackers on this team are among the best units that he has ever coached. Fountain, and the consistency he brings in the middle of the defense and as a coach on the field, is a big reason he's so confident in that group. Bonamego has said he's one of the best on the team at reading what the opponent is doing.
While Jonathan Ward put up big numbers on offense, HustleBelt.com, a blog devoted to MAC football, ranks him 19th among all players in the conference - and Ward 20th.
Junior defensive back Sean Bunting
Bunting, as CMU's coaches have said, plays with the kind of swagger and confidence that is characteristic of many great defensive backs. Now he's got to provide leadership for a secondary that loses some key pieces from a unit that was one of the team's strengths in 2017.
In terms of his skills and past production, there's a lot to like. Bunting has been a big play kind of guy. He had two forced fumbles, five pass breakups and five interceptions a year ago. Actually, Bunting had five interceptions in CMU's final six games of the season. During the team's four-game winning streak at the end of the regular season he was arguably as valuable as any player on the defense because of those forced turnovers in competitive games.
Bunting's history with CMU is interesting. The previous Chippewa coaching staff had taken him as a scholarship commitment, but when John Bonamego took over he asked Bunting to greyshirt. Since Bunting didn't have many other options, he accepted that greyshirt. It's worked out well.
